'PFAs' found in WPAFB water supply

DAYTON, Ohio (WKEF/WRGT) - Congressman Mike Turner is weighing in on news that Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is leaking contaminated water into the Dayton supply.

Turner, who's on the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, sent this statement to Fox 45:

“The Mayor’s letter concerns an issue that my office has been actively working with the Department of Defense (DoD), Air Force, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to address. It affects many bases across the country and the House Armed Services and Appropriations Committees have been working to ensure appropriate action is taken by the DoD. I have additional information I think the Mayor will find helpful and look forward to working with her to ensure we maintain quality drinking water for our community.”

Chemicals knows as PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl) are the problem, which are found in foam firefighters use at military bases .

"What we would like to do is to work with the base to make sure those contaminants don't travel from the base toward our well field," Director of Water for Dayton Michael Powell said.

The Environmental Protection Agency limits PFAS to 70 parts per trillion. Dayton's samples showed the PFAS level at less than 10 In what's called "raw water". The city said PFAS han't been found in the drinking water .

"All of the drinking water they use is absolutely safe has always been safe and there's no threat," said City Manager Shelley Dickstein.

In 2016, the base shut down a well in Area A, after EPA testing showed high levels of a similar chemical.